Zuffa Fills WEC 44 Vacancies

Affliction and Sengoku veteran L.C. Davis
will square off with unbeaten featherweight prospect Diego Nunes
in a key 145-pound scrap at WEC 44 “Brown vs. Aldo” on Nov. 18 at
the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Half a dozen of the show’s
fights have now been announced by World Extreme Cagefighting
officials.

Davis has delivered five wins in his last six bouts, including a
split decision victory against Javier
Vazquez in his WEC debut two months ago. A former collegiate
wrestler, the 28-year-old holds notable victories against
Strikeforce veteran Conor Heun,
Bao
Quach and American Top Team’s Rafael Dias.
Davis has secured 11 of his 14 career wins by knockout, technical
knockout or submission.

Nunes, meanwhile, has finished seven of his last nine opponents
inside one round. The 26-year-old Brazilian last appeared at WEC 42
in August, when he defeated Dias by unanimous decision. Feared for
his considerable stand-up skills, the well-rounded Nunes has
delivered nearly half (six) of his 13 wins by submission.

In another pivotal featherweight tilt, Cub Swanson
will lock horns with International Fight League veteran John
Franchi.

Still only 26, Swanson finds himself on the rebound after a brutal
eight-second TKO loss to Jose Aldo at
WEC 41 in June. Victories over UFC veteran Shannon
Gugerty, former King of the Cage champion Charlie
Valencia and Dream featherweight grand prix finalist Hiroyuki
Takaya anchor his resume. Swanson has never lost back-to-back
fights.

Far less experienced than Swanson, Franchi has not competed since
his decision loss to “The Ultimate Fighter 5” runner-up Manny
Gamburyan four months ago. Based out of the same Bomb Squad MMA
camp that spawned unbeaten UFC light heavyweight contender Jon Jones,
Franchi opened his professional career with four consecutive
finishes, three of them inside the first round. He made his WEC
debut in March, edging Mike Budnik
by split decision.

A featherweight title match pairing defending champion Mike Thomas
Brown with Aldo will headline WEC 44, along with a 145-pound
showdown between former championship contender Leonard
Garcia and Gamburyan.